Argentina 2010
So, I've just got back from a month in Argentina, and I've loved it.
We rented a flat in Buenos Aires, did sight-seeing, got drunk in La Boca, caught a ferry to Uruguay and ate chivito, stayed at a country house in Entre Rios, rode horses, ate loads of gorgeous lomo, drank loads of Quilmes and Isenbeck, saw some good friends get married, and spent almost every day in blazing 32 degree sunshine while the UK looked like an icecube.
It was so lovely waking up each morning, and knowing that all you needed for the day was shorts, tshirts, and sandals.
Things were more expensive this time than when I went in 2005 - but if you're planning on getting loads of sunshine in January and eating lots of top quality steak, then it's the only place to go.
The place we really liked the food at was La Goleada on Scalabrini. Their menu has "The Hand of God" on the front cover, and various football related salads. But don't let that affect you - they do amazing lomo.
Also, Don Lechon was amazing. A massive (450g) slab of really tender, grilled fillet for only £10. That reminds me. I need to see if any UK supermarkets do Chimichurri.
The staff at our local place "Los Corrientes" in Chacarita also made us feel very welcome. I still feel guilty that I haven't sent them a postcard.
There was some amazing graffiti around - some political (I think it's safe to say George Bush wouldn't be very welcome), some funny, some really artistic (dscn7205).
It still amazes me to see people walking around, drinking mate, topping their mates up with hot water from thermos flasks, or from people selling hot water.
We went to the Malvinas Memorial. It's just depressing. Two nations, which were good friends (the British did the railways, water system etc), fighting over something so stupid. Something like 625 Argentines died. Ironically, the soldier on guard at that site stands facing El Torre de los Ingleses - the Tower of the English.
Recoleta cemetery is certainly something to check out. Recoleta is a really posh area.
As we were trying to find the cemetery, we happened to walk past the site of the Israeli Embassy bombing in 1992, just after I had left after my first visit.
They pulled the building down, but left the bathroom tiles which brings it to you. The attackers destroyed a local school, church, and the embassy, killed 4 Israelis, presumably the targets, 25 other people, and wounded 242. Unfortunately, that wasn't the only terrorism.
And, I get asked this from time to time - in case you're British (you'll be called English wherever you're from in the Isles!) - no, they don't have a problem about the Falklands. They think it was a shame, they didn't want to send their young men to fight on that island. Sure, they believe the islands are theirs (the history is fairly chequered - the islands changed hands between the British, French (Îles Malouines became Las Malvinas after the islands were briefly occupied by fishermen from St Malo), Spanish, and Argentines), but they won't fight you the minute they find out you're English.